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Re-Blooming Iris Care: How To Get Fall Flowers

With Reblooming Bearded Iris varieties, gardeners can enjoy a late spring splash of color, and look forward to a second flush of flowers in early to mid-fall! Learn how to care for your plants for the best chance of a second bloom.

  • To see the second bloom, the conditions must be right, with full sun and rich, well-draining soil conditions. Bearded Iris prefer at least 6-8 hours of sunlight a day. In hot climates (zones 8-11), they will tolerate 4-6 hours of sun, and may need some shade during the day.
  • Bearded Iris rhizomes prefer shallow cultivation, with the top of the rhizome above ground. They grow especially well on slopes or in raised beds. 
  • In climates with cold winters, you may see limited fall blooming. 
  • Reblooming Bearded Iris are heavy feeders, requiring more water and fertilizer for the extra boost to flower again.
  • Be sure to deadhead faded flower spikes promptly after the first bloom, so plants will have time to form new flowers.
  • Reblooming Iris are heavy feeders and benefit from a light topdressing of compost and Yum Yum Mix applied just after "deadheading" the plants. Scratch in the compost/Yum Yum Mix lightly and water thoroughly to melt the nutrients into the soil. To avoid burning rhizomes, apply around but not directly on them.

Reblooming Bearded Iris Varieties

'Sugar Blues' Reblooming Bearded Iris - wisteria-blue petals and a sweet fragrance. 36-38”, this reblooming tall iris will bloom in late spring and again in late summer/fall. Deer resistant, drought resistant, very cold hardy.

'Immortality' Reblooming Bearded Iris - big, pure white flowers with yellow whiskers on the falls make this reblooming Iris a garden standout. Fragrant flowers are held on medium tall (26 - 28 in.) flower spikes.

'Final Episode' Reblooming Bearded Iris - a reblooming bi-colored variety, the flowers have light yellow standard petals sitting on top of violet-shading-to-blue falls. A robust grower, 'Final Episode' is tall, blooming at a height of 34 -35 in.

'Ziggy' Reblooming Bearded Iris - this reblooming variety has yellow (with a touch of tan) standard petals held over streaked white and purple falls. Lightly fragrant, 'Ziggy' blooms at a height of 28-29 in.

'Stellar Lights' Reblooming Bearded Iris - the flowers of this stunning blue-purple reblooming variety are marked with eye-catching white whiskers as the center of the fall petals. 'Stellar Lights' is a tall Iris blooming at a height of 35 - 36" inches.

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